Kempsey's Dulcie Turner celebrates 100 years of wonderful memories

My name is Dulcie Turner I was born on November 25, 1919 in Macksville NSW. The same year that the North Coast Railway line was extended to Macksville.

My parents were Leila (Henson) Booth and Gordon Scott Booth. I had one sister, Enid Milligan, and one brother, Jack.

Soon after I was born my parents moved to Maclean where we lived until we moved to Kempsey. My father worked at the Butter factory on Smith Street, where Woolworths is today, we lived beside it in a lovely old two story house which faced the Macleay river, this is where I learnt to swim. As children, we, along with all the other local children, would swim in the river in front of our house, I have never lost my passion for swimming.

I attended West Kempsey Primary School and then Kempsey High School.

My first job was in retail at T.G. Savages department store, it was 1935 and I was 16 years old. I worked at Savages for 7 years until I was 23, it was there that I met a handsome young man, Francis Lloyd Turner, who was to become my husband.

Lloyd and I were married in January 1943, two years before the end of the war.

Lloyd was serving in the army and had been granted seven days leave for our wedding. We spent a three day honeymoon at the boarding house in Livingstone Street South West Rocks.

We loved South West Rocks, and camping on the hill overlooking Horseshoe Bay, together with our friends, became our annual holiday ritual. We had many good times at The Rocks. This is where my passion for swimming in the ocean began and continued until I reached the age of 98, I do miss going for a swim in the sea.

We moved to South Kempsey where Lloyd worked in Cecil Dornan's mixed business on the corner of Lachlan and Nicholson streets. They were happy years in the small, supportive community of young families who were there at the time.

I had two children, my daughter Judith was born in 1944 and my son Robert was born in 1953 but sadly passed away as a young man.

We bought our own business, the General Store at 68 Sea Street, Kempsey West, in 1953.

Our life in 'Turner's Store' was a busy but rewarding one, we saw many changes, families growing up and then their children coming along.

Initially all the main staples were delivered to us in bulk. Many hours were spent weighing, packaging and labelling the flour, sugar, salt, biscuits etc. We couldn't have survived without the help and loyalty of our wonderful staff.

Luckily by the time we left the shop all stock came ready packed, giving us more time to spend with family and friends.

We ran the business for 25 years and sold it in 1978.

After we bought the store we began holidaying at Crescent Head, initially camping in what is now the car park for the Country Club. We moved our campsite in subsequent years to a prime spot overlooking Killick Creek and the beach. We held that spot for over 45 years during which we made lots of friends from all over Australia.

The next chapter of my life was retirement.

Lloyd and I loved to play golf and we were founding members of the Kempsey Golf Club. I was a Pink Lady at Kempsey Hospital and enjoyed volunteering in the community.

We also loved to travel, making many journeys around Australia including Tasmania and across the Tasman to New Zealand.

Retirement also allowed us to spend more time with our beloved grandsons, Michael and Andrew and share in their lives.

I have always been fashion conscious and I like to look my very best at all times. I enjoyed fashion so much I went to Technical College to learn dress making and tailoring.

Tending my vegetable and flower garden and cooking for my family and friends has always given me the greatest pleasure, my daughter tells me I am an excellent cook.

My father was an avid gardener, and this is where my love of gardening came from. I still walk around Cedar Place watering plants and looking after the little garden outside my room. This love of gardening has been passed down to my two grandsons, one of whom (Andrew) became a landscape architect,

Michael grows his own vegetables, and I have learnt that my 18 month old great grandson, Evan, has also found the joy of gardening (mostly pulling up Michael's vegetables).

I am a keen weather watcher, I like to keep an eye on what the weather is up to, so watching the weather forecast is a very important part of my day along with going for a walk outside to keep an eye on the sky.

Sadly, Lloyd passed away in 2003 after sixty happy years of marriage. I stayed in the family home until 2013, when I was 94, at which time I moved to Cedar Place to join my dear sister Enid. I feel I have found a new home at Cedar Place and am very happy here.

Thank you Kempsey for 100 years of wonderful memories.